Line #36 Trivia/TheLastAirbender


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10	!!Film
11	* AbilityOverAppearance: The filmmakers {{invoked\|trope}} this against criticism of the RaceLift of various characters. Many years later, accusations came to light that Creator/NicolaPeltz was cast as a favor to her billionaire father Nelson, and Jackson Rathbone was subsequently hired to match her appearance. If true, this would probably count as a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], particularly with how harshly both actors' performances were criticised.
12	* ActorInspiredElement: During the open casting call, creator Creator/MNightShyamalan received a video of Noah Ringer doing performance martial arts. He never originally thought about casting Ringer (saying that he thought "Wow, that's cool", but didn't originally intend to have so much of it in, or not [[MundaneMadeAwesome quite so awesome]]), but then called him in for some acting auditions and screen tests to see if he could double anyway. He was apparently so impressed by the boy, who does look a lot like Aang as well, that he was hired.
13	* CastTheExpert: Noah Ringer (Aang) was cast more for his martial arts experience (he earned a black belt in Taekwondo at the age of ten, and was very proficient with a staff) than his acting ability; in fact, he had to take acting lessons before shooting started because he’d never acted in front of a green screen before. However, he did seem to have the personality that would fit Aang (energetic, fun-loving, etc.), and he had already shaved his head. This ironically lines up with Aang's ability since, in the show, Aang was considered a master airbender by the age of 12, hence the arrow tattoos.
14	* CastTheRunnerUp:
15	** Creator/JacksonRathbone auditioned for Zuko before being cast as Sokka.
16	** Creator/SeychelleGabriel (Yue's actress) originally auditioned for the role of Katara, but subsequently lost out to Creator/NicolaPeltz.
17	* ChristmasRushed: The reason this film clocks in at 100 minutes long is that Paramount wouldn’t budge on the lucrative Independence Day Weekend release even though they mandated that it be converted to [=3D=]. There just wasn’t enough time to convert the original cut of the film and they didn’t want to play two versions of the same film. Ultimately, this was all rendered pointless as it managed to roughly break even financially despite its release date.
18	* CreatorBacklash:
19	** In a [[https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/m-night-shyamalan-glass-bad-reviews-1202059607/ 2019 lecture Shyamalan gave at New York University,]] he called this along with ''Film/AfterEarth'' "junk movies," with the critical failure they received making him disillusioned with the Hollywood system and leading him to self-fund his own movies in the future.
20	** Creator/DevPatel admitted that he regretted participating in the film, stating that his ideas were never heard by anyone and that the experience made him decide not to participate in major studio films.
21	** Creator/RichardEpcar, who voiced Chief Saikhan in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', didn't like how the film turned out.
22	* CreatorsFavorite: Shyamalan made no secret that Zuko was his favorite character, and who he considers "the true hero" of the story.
23	* CreatorKiller: Creator/MNightShyamalan’s career [[Film/TheVillage2004 wasn’t]] [[Film/LadyInTheWater exactly]] [[Film/TheHappening spotless]] before this film, but it looked to be the final nail in the coffin. He was neither the screenwriter (though he did get a “story by” credit) nor the director of his next film, ''Film/{{Devil}}'', and his name actually drew jeers from audiences when it appeared in trailers. His next directorial effort, ''Film/AfterEarth'', did not mention him in any promotional material and also avoided showing his name until the ending credits rolled. He has begun a tentative comeback with ''Film/TheVisit'' and ''Film/{{Split}}'', though.
24	* CreatorsOddball: M. Night’s only direct adaptation, only children’s film, and also only action-adventure film.
25	* DawsonCasting:
26	** Jackson Rathbone (24 at the time of release) as Sokka (15–16). The actress who was intended to play Suki, Jessica Andres, was the same age. The other characters are played by actors of a closer age. Rathbone apparently had a good screen test with Peltz and very much looked like her ''older'' brother. He looks awkward playing opposite Dev Patel, who is six years ''younger'' despite playing a character one year his senior.
27	** Summer Bishil is 2 years older than Dev Patel, whereas Azula is 2 years ''younger'' than Zuko.
28	** Iroh in the series [[PracticallyDifferentGenerations is around 20 years older than his brother Ozai]], whereas Shaun Toub is only five years older than Cliff Curtis. It's unclear if this is meant to be an in-universe AgeLift.
29	* DeletedRole:
30	** Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors were in the earlier cuts of the film but didn’t make the theatrical version once Paramount mandated a 100 minute runtime.
31	** A fortune teller - the film's version of Aunt Wu - originally appeared to help Aang contact Gyatso from the beyond the grave (though it's made clear that she's just a sham). She would then get possessed by the Dragon Spirit, who ominously warns Aang about the Fire Nation's attack on the Northern Water Tribe.
32	* DeletedScene: A significant number, the exclusion of them apparently due to ExecutiveMeddling. At 100 minutes the movie had a real breakneck pace, with the deleted scenes fleshing out the story, personalities and doing some more world building. Notably, an entire subplot with Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors were part of the film. Some have noted that a lot of these scenes harken closer to the spirit of the show, with one in particular having Aang enjoy himself dancing with villagers after rooting out the Fire Nation (versus almost always being rather dour throughout the movie).
33	* DisownedAdaptation: ''Avatar'' co-creators Michael [=DiMartino=] and Bryan Konietzko seem to share their fanbase’s distaste for the film, having said in interviews that it distorted their vision of ''Avatar'' and have even advised people, including members of the ''original cast'', not to watch it.
34	* ExecutiveMeddling: Nepotism, script rewrites, and cut scenes to keep the movie under 100 minutes long seem to have ultimately killed Shyamalan and company's enthusiasm for the project, leading them to phone it in just to get their paychecks. A crew member of the movie [[http://moviepilot.com/posts/3270452 posted]] on the film's TroubledProduction. To add insult to injury, production of the film was rushed at different times just to get it converted to 3-D in time for its release. In fact, there are said to be about twenty differences between the film and its novelization alone.
35	* MagnumOpusDissonance: During filming, M. Night Shyamalan proclaimed this would be his best movie. Given that it won five UsefulNotes/{{Golden Raspberry Award}}s and lost Creator/{{Paramount}} Pictures a fair chunk of change to boot, it's probably safe to say it is not.
36	** As noted above though, some time after the film's release, Shyamalan has admitted he thought the film was a "junk film".
37	* MissingTrailerScene:
38	** Two of them involve Sokka. One has him flirting with Yue by telling her “I taught him that,” implying that he was talking about Aang. Another one had him cheering during the climactic battle after defeating the Fire Nation. It’s pretty jarring that they were cut, since they were quite in-character for Sokka.
39	** Anything with the Warriors of Kyoshi, whose entire story was cut. The ''entire teaser'' was not even meant for the original movie. This got to the point where entire TV spots for the film were made of footage never seen in the film itself.
40	* TheOtherDarrin:
41	** As result of the legal requirements regarding dubs, the Latin American Spanish dub doesn't use the Chilean voice cast from the TV series, but this one was dubbed in Mexico instead.
42	** Likewise, the Japanese dub use a very different cast from the one from the TV series as well.
43	* PlayingAgainstType:
44	** ''Series/TheDailyShow''[='=]s Aasif Mandvi as Admiral Zhao. At least he’s already got the [[LargeHam ham]] down.
45	** Although M. Night Shyamalan is famous for his supernatural movies, this movie marks his first fantasy action-adventure epic, as well as his first franchise-based adaptation.
46	* PromotedFanboy:
47	** Shyamalan first heard about the show when his daughter asked to be Katara for Halloween. After watching a few episodes, he decided to make an adaptation almost immediately.
48	** Creator/NicolaPeltz was a fan of the show, and Katara in particular, before being cast as her.
49	* RenamedToAvoidAssociation: The word "Avatar" was dropped from the title to avoid association with ''Film/{{Avatar}}''.
50	* StarDerailingRole: Most of the performers with major roles in this film saw this happen to them, with Ringer only appearing in one other nuclear BoxOfficeBomb GenreKiller, ''Film/CowboysAndAliens'', the next year, and he hasn't appeared on the big screen since. However, Dev Patel (Zuko), Shaun Toub (Iroh), Aasif Mandvi (Zhao), Cliff Curtis (Ozai) and Seychelle Gabriel (Yue), escaped this.[[note]]Gabriel, as a matter of fact, remained in the Nickelodeon ''Avatar'' franchise and took the major role of Asami Sato in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', which was a StarMakingRole for her.[[/note]] Bryan and Mike even note that getting to meet Seychelle was one of the few positives that came from this train wreck of a film. Likewise, Creator/NicolaPeltz managed to get later roles in ''Series/BatesMotel'' and the ''Transformers'' franchise, since her StageDad Nelson is a businessman and an investor.
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53	* StillbornFranchise: The intention behind this film was clearly to be the first of a trilogy, and that the other two seasons of the original show were to be adapted next. Its lackluster performance at the box office put an effective stop to these plans, but even after the film failed, Shyamalan expressed hope that he could one day get a sequel off the ground as late as 2015. Viacom did not share this idea: the next live-action adaptation would be a [[Series/AvatarTheLastAirbender2024 a television series]] set in a new continuity, while the franchise's next theatrical outing would be an animated film set in the main continuity and overseen by the original creators.
54	* TroubledProduction: [[http://www.geekbinge.com/2014/08/14/m-night-shyamalan-really-blame-last-airbender/ According to this article]], studio mismanagement was a large part of the film's failures. As reported in a 2014 forum post to ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fansite [=AvatarSpirit.net=] by someone who supposedly worked on the film:
55	** Shyamalan, a fan of the series, wrote a seven-hour treatment spanning all twenty first season episodes, one reason why it gained ''Avatar'' creators Michael Dante [=DiMartino=] and Bryan Konietzko's approval. Unfortunately, Paramount was not nearly as familiar with or fond of the series, and they were in charge of some of the film's more poorly-received aspects, starting with the casting.
56	** Creator/NicolaPeltz was cast as Katara largely because [[{{Nepotism}} she's the daughter of businessman Nelson Peltz, who the producers owed a favor]]; her audition tape was described as [[DullSurprise "subpar at best."]] This one unfair decision is almost singlehandedly responsible for the infamous whitewashing, as a Caucasian Katara forced the casting of a Caucasian Sokka. Jackson Rathbone was at least familiar with the series and auditioned with Sokka's sense of humour in mind, but the producers cut the intentional jokes out in the interest of time, leaving the dull characterization of Sokka that landed in the finished product. Noah Ringer as Aang had talent but lacked experience, and felt particularly lost in talking to air for scenes that would be green-screened later.
57	** [[Music/JesseMcCartney Jesse McCartney]] was originally cast as Zuko, since the producers wanted at least one star in the main cast. Paramount soon realized the problem they had created for themselves by whitewashing the ''entire'' cast. They couldn't get rid of Peltz (and Rathbone with her), so [=McCartney=] voluntarily stepped down and was replaced by Dev Patel, fresh from his star-making turn in Best Picture winner ''Film/SlumdogMillionaire''. Unfortunately, Patel's casting actually ''exacerbated'' the problem, as it had the domino effect of necessitating the re-casting of the Fire Nation characters, the film's antagonists, with brown-skinned actors[[note]] for reference - Aasif Mandvi (Zhao) and Patel himself are both British-Indian, Shaun Toub (Iroh) is Persian/Iranian, Cliff Curtis (Ozai) is Māori, and Summer Bishil (Azula) is Indian-Mexican [[/note]], resulting in a film about heroic white kids fighting evil brown people.
58	** The budget was also very sloppily allocated. The opening scenes at the South Pole were shot on location in Greenland at great expense, but after the producers decided that they couldn't believably render the scenes of elemental manipulation with camera practical effects and so gave a large fraction of the budget to Creator/IndustrialLightAndMagic for post-production of those scenes, most of the rest of the location shooting was done on a far more modest scale in Pennsylvania. The Fire Nation palace was a Philadelphia high school, the Earth Kingdom was the area in and around Reading, and the North Pole scenes were shot in an old aircraft hangar and greenscreened.
59	** Post-production was similarly rushed and left in the hands of staff members hopelessly out of their depths, leading to such scenes as the widely derided "pebble dance". By this point, Shyamalan had given up arguing with the overheads, and [=DiMartino=] and Konietzko were only listed as executive producers because they created the original series, not because they were allowed any input into the film itself. Finally, 30 minutes were cut when Paramount decided at the last minute to convert it to 3-D and found there wasn't enough money to convert the entire film. The result was eviscerated by critics and fans of the series, [=DiMartino=] and Konietzko publicly [[DisownedAdaptation disowned the film altogether]], and Shyamalan eventually [[CreatorBacklash came to regret his involvement]].
60	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/AvatarTheLastAirbender Enough for its own page]].
61	* WordOfGod: When describing why the Earthbenders [[LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard didn’t escape from the quarry]], Shyamalan responded that they were “too dispirited” to do so. [[VoodooShark This answer somehow makes]] ''[[VoodooShark less]]'' [[VoodooShark sense when you think about it.]] This actually ''was'' the reason in the show, but it was caused by circumstances which were totally different. While dispirited, the Earthbenders in the show were on a ''coal derrick made out of metal'', located in the middle ''of the ocean,'' rather than the landbound quarry in the film.
62	* WrittenForMyKids: Creator/MNightShyamalan supposedly made this film because his daughter was so taken by its source material.
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64	!!Specific
65	* One of ''The Last Airbender''’s [[UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward Razzies]] was for Worst Picture of 2010. Another was the one-time “[[SpecialEffectFailure Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3-D]].” It also "won" Worst Screenplay, Worst Director and Worst Supporting Actor (Jackson Rathbone, who also won for his role in ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Eclipse]]''). The film also received four additional nominations, tying it with Eclipse for the most razzie nominations of that year.
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67	!!Video Game

Context Trivia / TheLastAirbender